Research news
An easy way of making aquaculture more sustainable
Changing the way that carp are fed can substantially reduce the amount of ammonia they excrete compared to when they eat the same amount of food all at once. This finding is one of the outcomes of Wouter Mes’s PhD research at Radboud University.
Privacy choices smart meters will have consequences for decades
Smart meters have become commonplace in the Netherlands: the vast majority of households now have one in their fuse box. And yet, some 10 years after their introduction, there are still many questions around the security and privacy of smart meters.
The unintended consequences of development cooperation
Development cooperation often results in unintended effects, besides the intended ones. Evaluation reports must also pay attention to these sorts of “side effects”, argues researcher Dirk-Jan Koch.
How the ego inhibits personal development and social attachment
According to social psychologist Roos Vonk, our ego impedes our social relationships and our personal growth. Her latest book. ‘Mijn ego heeft altijd gelijk. Van zelfbedrog naar zelfkennis’ will be released by Meulenhoff Publishers on 12 September.
Heino Falcke receives Balzan Prize for high-resolution images of black holes
Heino Falcke, professor of astroparticle physics and radio astronomy at Radboud University, has won the 2023 Balzan Prize in the category "high-resolution images, from planetary to cosmic objects".
ERC Starting Grants for research into magnetic switching and Avicenna
Two researchers at Radboud University will receive a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). This 1.5 million euro grant offers them the opportunity to form their own research groups and expand on their research.
HorizonEU grants for research projects into skilled migrants, climate action
Two new projects led by Radboud University will receive a Horizon Europe grant. The ACHIEVE project will look into individual, voluntary climate actions, while GS4S seeks to understand how skills shortages can be mitigated with skilled labor workers.
How the Huguenots were blamed for 16th-century storms
While some people claimed that the pandemic originated in China, others attributed the cause to the mistreatment of animals. Even in the 16th century, the news media provided different explanations for major disasters, Marieke van Egeraat, who will be defending her PhD thesis at Radboud University on 13 September, has found.
Invasive species are animals, too: considering a humane approach
Invasive alien species are animals that may pose a threat to biodiversity, but it's time to deal with that in a more ethical way. ‘We need to take a humane, long-term view and learn to co-exist’ argues Cebuan Bliss, an environmental researcher.
Brain signals transformed into speech through implants and AI
Researchers from Radboud University and the UMC Utrecht have succeeded in transforming brain signals into audible speech. Their findings are published in the Journal of Neural Engineering this month.
Expropriation expert increasingly important, but hardly enshrined in law
Sam Schuite studied the role of damages experts in expropriation procedures and related procedures such as planning damage and compensation for loss, and will be defending his PhD thesis on that research at Radboud University on 30 August.
Anxious people use less suitable section of brain to control emotions
When choosing their behaviour in socially difficult situations, anxious people use a less suitable section of the forebrain than people who are not anxious. This can be seen in brain scans, shown by of Radboud University.
NWO Veni grants for research into frontline workers, social media and more
The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded a Veni grant to ten young researchers at Radboud University. With this grant of up to 280.000 euro they can further elaborate their own ideas during a period of three years.
NGF AiNed Fellowship Grant for research into voice diagnostics
The project's goal is to develop new forms of speech technology that provide AI-assisted diagnosis and management of neuro-degenerative disease and AI-assisted support for improvement of pronunciation and reading skills.
Webb Detects Water Vapor in Rocky Planet-forming Zone
Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope have for the first time revealed the presence of water in the inner disk around a young star where giant planets have already formed further away.
'Open' alternatives to ChatGPT are on the rise, but how open is AI really?
OpenAI's ChatGPT seems ubiquitous, but open source versions of instruction-tuned text generators are gaining the upper hand. They are a lot more transparent. Insight into training data and algorithms is key for responsible use of generative AI, a team of linguists and language technology researchers at Radboud University claim.
Bridge funding for the HFML-FELIX research facility
NWO has pledged €3.3 million as bridge funding to HFML-FELIX in the lead-up to a renewed cooperation agreement.
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Scientists find first evidence for new superconducting state in Ising superconductor
In this week’s edition of Nature, they present evidence for a special variant of the so-called FFLO superconducting state, a discovery that could have significant applications, particularly in the field of superconducting electronics.
Floating plants best at purifying wastewater and there’s a bonus: they can recover phosphorus
According to research by Lisanne Hendriks, an ecologist at Radboud University, azolla and duckweed are the best floating aquatic plants for purifying wastewater. The plants absorb nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater and so render it much cleaner.
Aquatic animals living closer to the edge when it comes to heat stress
Amphipods have a much smaller safety margin to cope with warmer water in rivers than has been recognised previously. This is shown by the research of, among other ecologists, Wilco Verberk of Radboud University.